SWOT analysis of Jack Daniels

Jack Daniels is the world’s top-selling American whiskey brewed by the Jack Daniels Brewery which is owned by Brown Forman. The various popular variants of the whiskey include Old No 7, Tennessee Rye, Single Barrel Collection, Gentleman Jack, Tennesse Fire and Tennessee Honey.

The company which makes Tennesse Whiskey sells its various top brands in almost 180 countries across the world and in the year 2016 it registered an annual turnover of 12.2 billion USD through a production output of 11 million cases of whiskey. Jack Daniel whiskey claims to be converting the spring water from the Lynchburg’s spring into whiskey through a process which has been followed since its year of inception 1866. The whiskey is also been associated with certain strong personality traits and has a character of itself.

Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Jack Daniels

The following are the strengths, ofJack Daniels:

• Vintage brand: JackDaniels has been able to maintain its vintage image which is strongly associated with the square bottle, the black and white label, the charcoal flavor and the dark brown color. The brand continues to maintain its identity and remains similar to what it was when it was first brewed in 1866.
• Process: The brewing process used by Jack Daniel was quite different from his contemporaries. Jack used the iron-free cave spring water from Lynchburg’s springs selected the finest grains, tempered the whiskey by filtering it through ten feet of sugar maple charcoal, and changed the charcoal om a frequent basis to improve the quality and consistency of the Except for some amount of automation the process remains largely the same even today.
• Customer-driven promotions: From the time it started promoting the brand, Jack Daniels has always focused on enhancing customer engagement. From sponsorship of motor racing and other popular sporting events to their popular Barbeque festival the brand has always been using any possible avenue that would get them closer to the customer.
• Consistency: The brand has always been consistent in not just its advertising messages but also in the product which has not changed much in taste or texture from the time it was first introduced. These are probably the reasons why the brand has been able to win the trust and goodwill of their customers.
• Global accountability: The core values of the brand Jack Daniel remain the same across years and the brand stands for integrity, independence and authenticity. These do not change either does the product in any market that it is sold in.This global acceptability of the brand is also a strength.

Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Jack Daniels

Some of the key weaknesses of Jack Daniel are :

• Supply-demand balance: Though a vintage brand one of the prime challenges that Jack Daniel has faced is balancing supply and demand. The demand initially had been higher than the supply which the company was finding difficult to ramp up because of the complication in the manufacturing process.
• Cannibalisation of parent brand: With the agenda of capturing new markets, Jack Daniel has introduced numerous variants such as flavored whiskeys and other premium spirits and this increases the risk of cannibalization of the parent brand on which the image has been built.
• Inability to target mass: Jack Daniel is a brand in the premium segment of the market and is priced at a very high level. Thus it cannot cater to the mass market but must look at building a base of loyal customers who will bring in business through repeat purchase.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Jack Daniels

Some of the opportunities include :

• Retail consumption: In comparison to the last decade the number of parties where people consume alcohol that is hosted at home is growing and so are the number of consumers who prefer to have a drink at home than at a bar or a pub. This is increasing the retail consumption of alcohol a trend which is likely to grow in both developed and emerging markets.
• Growing popularity of whiskey and bourbon: Earlier whiskey and bourbon was considered to be a drink for the elite and was mostly popular only in the West.But the recent years have seen an increase in the sale of both these liquor types in the Easter cultures as well.
• The popularity of flavored whiskeys: In addition to the ages-old whiskey today there is also a growing preference for flavored Whiskey. Jack Daniels has already established their presence in these markets with brands like Tennesse Fire and Tennessee Honey.

Threats in the SWOT analysis of Jack Daniels

Some of the threats include:

• Competition: Some of the major competitors of Jack Daniel are Diageo, Ab In Bev, Sab Miller, United Breweries etc.